Page 9 of His Secret
“Wanna tell him?” he says with a laugh.
I grip the album, but angle my head to look at him. “You got strict parents?”
“Oh, yeah. Strict is actually very understated. I have dictator parents.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah. What about you?”
“My parents are fine. I’m closer to my mom, but my dad is cool. They divorced when I was fifteen, and I stayed with my mom.”
For the next two hours, we lose track of time as we talk about our families and what it was like for us in high school. I tell him about growing up in Detroit and why I plan onstaying in South River after college. He tells me he’s from Chicago and mentions some football rivalry between Detroit and Chicago’s teams. Then he goes on to talk about his sister, and I tell him about the first time I drank and why I don’t want it to happen again. It involved an embarrassing story about throwing up in a sink at a bar.
We talk about nearly everything and get to know each other so much more in just a matter of hours. I’ve never talked to someone like this before. I’ve never known so much about another person. I had some friends in high school, but I wasn’t a popular kid. I didn’t have sleepovers and birthday parties at skating rinks. I talked to other students at school and that was about it.
Adrian ignores his buzzing cell phone to continue listening to me talk about my failed attempt at fishing for the first time and why I’ll never try that again either. He laughs when I tell him I threw the fish back in the water after catching it, because I felt bad, only to find out he died anyway.
After a quick bathroom break, he comes back in the room with a story about running away when he was twelve. He didn’t last long; he went back home only hours later with his tail between his legs because he was hungry.
At some point we end up flat on our backs, Adrian throwing a small basketball in the air and catching it over and over while I stare at the blades of the fan spinning around.
“So, you want to get into software development?” he asks.
“I love anything to do with computers. I’m certified with CompTIA A+ and have been since high school. It’s a basic understanding of IT. But I’ve always loved creating games and doing coding and stuff like that.”
“That’s cool.”
I stifle a yawn and finally look at the time. “Holy shit. It’s almost three in the morning.”
“Is it?” Adrian asks, looking at his clock. “Damn.”
“I should get going.”
He puts the ball down. “Yeah.”
I sit up and swing my legs over the side. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Of course. You ready to do it again next weekend?”
I grin as I walk to the door. “Maybe, but don’t hold your breath.”
The truth is, I can’t do it again. I feel myself liking him way too much already. It’s dangerous, this sort of thing. I’m infatuated. He’s oblivious.
He gets up and follows me. “Want me to walk you to the car?”
I bite my lip before saying, “Would you?”
“Let me get my shoes on.”
I yawn and wipe the wetness from my eyes.
“Maybe you should stay here. You know what they say, ‘driving sleepy is driving impaired.”
“Is that what they say?”
He nods. “Yep.”
“Hmm.” I tap my lips with my finger, realizing just how tired I am. My eyes do feel a little blurry. A slow, long blink might put me to sleep, but staying with Adrian is not the smartest move.